A teenage boy's mother is fighting a heartbreaking battle to raise awareness of sexploitation after her son took his own life after being messaged on Instagram by Nigerian scammers.
Jordan DeMay killed himself after being tricked into sending explicit photos by people pretending to be a young girl. Figures show sexploitation is the fastest-growing scam affecting teenagers around the world. In The US alone there have been more than 27 suicides linked to it.
Michigan mom Jenn Buta lost her precious son two years ago after he was first contacted on the social media app, conned and blackmailed. She posts dozens of videos about the devastating loss and how people can avoid being targeted. But the 17-year-old's death still haunts her and years on she still can't bring herself to change his room.
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With the curtains closed and basketball jerseys and clothes still in the same place, it's a sad story of how a life was cruelly taken. She explained: “It still smells like him. That’s one of the reasons I still have the door closed. I can still smell that sweat, dirt, cologne mix in this room. I'm just not ready to part with his stuff."
Jordan was one of many who have been contacted by the scammers online and tricked into sharing personal photos. He was then told if he didn't send them hundreds of pounds the explicit photos would be shared with his friends online. There was only six hours between Jordan's first message with the men before he took his life.
After sending as much money as he could, Jordan pleaded with the scammers that he didn't have any more money and would kill himself if they spread the image. The callous criminals replied: "Good… Do that fast - or I'll make you do it.”
An investigation was launched into the scammers whose actions resulted in the death of the young American teen. Now, Samuel, 22, and Samson Ogoshi, 20, are awaiting sentencing in the US after being arrested in Lagos, Nigeria. They pleaded guilty to child sexploitation charges. Another Nigerian man linked to Jordan’s death and other cases is fighting extradition, the BBC reports .
Jenn has taken the devastating incident and tried to do good with it by raising awareness on TikTok on an account Jordan had previously set up for her. She speaks about the dangers of sextortion young people face and has received millions of views.
US crime figures show sexploitation cases more than doubled last year, rising to 26,700, with at least 27 boys having killed themselves in the past two years. Researchers and law enforcement agencies point to West Africa, and particularly Nigeria, as a hotspot for where attackers are based.
In April, two Nigerian men were arrested after a schoolboy from Australia killed himself. Two other men are on trial in Lagos, after the suicides of a 15-year-old boy in the US and a 14-year-old in Canada. In January, US cyber-company Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) highlighted a web of Nigerian TikTok, YouTube and Scribd accounts sharing tips and scripts for sextortion.
Dr Tombari Sibe, from Digital Footprints Nigeria, fears cyber-fraud is now a normality for young people in the country. He said: “There's also the big problem of unemployment and of poverty. All these young ones who don't really have much - it's become almost like a mainstream activity where they don't really think too much about the consequences. They just see their colleagues making money.”
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Speaking to the BBC, the director of Nigeria’s National Cyber Crime Centre (NCCC) defended his police force’s actions, and insisted it was working hard to catch criminals and deter others from carrying out attacks.
Uche Ifeanyi Henry said it was "laughable" that people claim the country isn't taking sexploitation seriously and that his officers are targeting it "hard". He added: “We are giving criminals a very serious hit. A lot have been prosecuted and a lot have been arrested,” he said. "Many of these criminals are moving to neighboring countries now because of our activity.”
Jenn Buta campaigns alongside Jordan’s father John DeMay and regularly give advice to young people who may become victims. Alongside guidance from authorities, she offered the following advice:
Remember you are not alone and this is not your fault
Report the predator’s account, via the platform’s safety feature
Block the predator from contacting you
Save the profile or messages - they can help law enforcement identify and stop the predator
Ask for help from a trusted adult or law enforcement before sending money or more images
Co-operating with the predator rarely stops the blackmail and harassment - but law enforcement can
For emotional support , you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or go to http://SuicidePreventionLifeline.org
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